"Rod (Taylor) was more developed coming into the ninth grade. Breeland (Speaks) was still a ways away but you could (see) the athletic ability," said Jones, who's now the athletic director for the Hinds County School District. "Both of them had the size and the athletic ability to really have a future and play in this game. I noticed this immediately.”

Offensive lineman Rod Taylor and defensive end Breeland Speaks eventually turned into highly-touted recruits as Chargers then multi-year starters at Ole Miss.

Their journey started in Jackson. It relocated to Oxford for four years and this week there's a stop in Indianapolis as the two attempt to improve their draft stock at the 2018 NFL Combine. Together.

Mississippi defensive tackle Breeland Speaks (9) celebrates after Mississippi recovered a fumble of a punt by Vanderbilt in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Humphrey, AP

Defensive tackle Breeland Speaks (9) celebrates his fumble recovery in the third quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. He should replace Robert Nkemdiche (not pictured) on Ole Miss' defensive line.
CHUCK COOK/USA TODAY SPORTS

Christian Ringo. That's the list of players who were born in Jackson, played high school football in Jackson, and have been drafted in the past 10 years. Before that, you have to go back to Charlie Anderson (Provine), who was drafted in 2004.

Point being, it's a small fraternity Speaks and Taylor are trying to join.

“As a former athlete from Jackson, it’s one of the greatest days in JPS football history," said Co-Lin offensive line coach Otis Riddley, who was an assistant on those Callaway teams with Speaks and Taylor. "We don’t normally get a lot of kids that reach this part of their football careers. So to see that these kids have been developed in Jackson, Mississippi, to see they represent Jackson well … it’s been a blessing to watch.”

But their time at Ole Miss hit some bumps in the road. Taylor dealt with some maturity issues as well as shoulder and ankle injuries. Speaks flashed some of his talent as a redshirt freshman but had a disappointing season in '16 and fell out of the defensive tackle rotation.

Taylor overcame the injury bug and started every game at right tackle last season. Midway through the season, Speaks moved to defensive end and it seemed to unlock his potential.

Speaks' versatility allowed him to record 67 tackles (second on the team), eight for loss, and seven sacks.

Matt Luke was there to witness the maturation process for both over the past four years.

"For me, I was involved with (recruiting) Rod because he was an offensive lineman. Very talented young man, a little immature," Luke said. "But to see him grow and how far he’s come, from where he was when he got here to where he is now is really, really special."

As far as Speaks goes, "The light bulb went off. Just understanding what’s important, prioritizing," Luke said. "It just takes time. Every once in awhile that light bulb goes off and I think that’s what happened for Breeland.”

Speaks, who is 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds, and the rest of the defensive line invitees perform Sunday.

“I pretty much want to show my athletic ability," he said. "I want to show my speed. I want to show how versatile I am.”

Among his strengths, NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote, Speaks possesses good speed, athletic ability, hand placement and awareness. Among the negatives were only one season of big production, inconsistency with gap leverage and going overboard with emotions.

In Zierlein's analysis, he highlighted Taylor's versatility (he's started at both guard and tackle in his career), and his upper body strength. The issues with Taylor are centered on maturity and technique.

“I want to show them my athleticism (and that) football comes first," Taylor said. "I’m a football player.”

Taylor will participate in drills with the offensive linemen on Friday. Speaks trained at Exos, a training center in Phoenix, while Taylor prepared for this week at Ole Miss.

So what were they planning on saying to each other when they met in Indianapolis?

“We’ll pretty much do what we always do. Talk noise and just cheer each other on, man," Speaks said. "He wants to do the best at his position, I want to do the best at mine."

And it's fitting they're doing it together.

“They came in and had this vision for themselves. They always reminded us as coaches what they wanted to do," Riddley said. "They wanted to play in the SEC. They wanted to go to the NFL and you hear it a lot, but they really worked toward their dreams. They really did."